High School Scrapbook: Shalane Flanagan

Runners sometimes feel that they need to be tough and not tell their coaches when they are tired or hurting. That’s not a good idea, according to 2004 Olympian Shalane Flanagan. "I take a very active role in communication with my coach," she says. "The way I see it, we’re machines, and the coach is the mechanic. We need to give as much feedback as possible so the coach knows what is going on."

Flanagan learned the importance of communication in college, when one of her goals was to get through four years without injury. "The best way to do that was to constantly be telling my coach what I was feeling, giving him feedback during workouts, and meeting with him at least once a week to talk about how things were going."

What about the days when you’re just a bit hurt and really want to do the workout? "The athlete shouldn’t be making those decisions," Flanagan says."The coach’s role is to monitor you, to step in to say, ‘Hold back. You really shouldn’t be doing that now.’"

"As athletes, we can get really eager. Your coach has the big picture and can take the long-term approach, deciding what is best for your career, not just the next race."

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